The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Courtesan Dreaming of her Childhood

c. 1770

Suzuki Harunobu

(Japanese, 1724–1770)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sheet: 68 x 12.8 cm (26 3/4 x 5 1/16 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1920.516
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Pillar prints, or hashira-e (柱絵), are long and narrow Japanese woodblock prints originally intended to decorate wooden pillars.

Description

This print depicts a courtesan dreaming about the time she was taken from her family to become a courtesan. The man leading the girl by the hand is probably escorting her to the Yoshiwara, the entertainment district in Edo. This format is called a pillar print, or hashira-e (literally, "pillar picture"). It is made by pasting two sheets together vertically to form a long, narrow picture, often hung as a decoration on the narrow support posts of the interior of Japanese houses.
  • (Yamanaka and Company)
    ?–1920
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1920–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 7, no. 7 (July 1920): 109–110. Mentioned: p. 109 www.jstor.org
  • Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 12, 2004- April 10, 2005).
    Japanese Hair Ornaments, Pouches and Toilet Articles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 16-November 1, 1936).
    Japanese Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 5-October 28, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Courtesan Dreaming of her Childhood|url=false|author=Suzuki Harunobu|year=c. 1770|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1920.516